Abiraterone benefits chemo-naive with advanced prostate CA

For chemotherapy-naive patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, abiraterone acetate correlates with improved radiographic progression-free survival, according to a study published online Dec. 10 in the New England Journal of Medicine to coincide with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recent approval for expanded use of the drug.

(HealthDay)—For chemotherapy-naive patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, abiraterone acetate correlates with improved radiographic progression-free survival, according to a study published online Dec. 10 in the New England Journal of Medicine to coincide with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recent approval for expanded use of the drug.

Charles J. Ryan, M.D., from the University of California in San Francisco, and colleagues randomly allocated 1,088 patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who had not received previous chemotherapy to receive abiraterone acetate (1,000 mg) plus prednisone or placebo plus prednisone.

The researchers found that the median radiographic progression-free survival was significantly improved for abiraterone-prednisone versus placebo-prednisone (16.5 versus 8.3 months; hazard ratio, 0.53). Overall survival improved with abiraterone-prednisone over a median follow-up of 22 months (median not reached versus 27.2 months with placebo-prednisone; hazard ratio, 0.75), but the efficacy boundary was not crossed. Abiraterone-prednisone was also superior with respect to time to initiation of cytotoxic chemotherapy, opiate use for pain related to cancer, prostate-specific antigen progression, and performance status decline. Abnormalities on liver-function testing and grade 3 or 4 mineralocorticoid-related adverse events were more common with abiraterone-prednisone.

"In summary, the results show benefit from the use of abiraterone in patients with asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who have not received previous chemotherapy," the authors write. "These findings include increased rates of radiographic progression-free survival and overall survival, as well as clinically meaningful secondary end points."

The study was funded by Janssen Research and Development, which manufacturers abiraterone acetate; several authors disclosed financial ties to pharmaceutical companies, including Janssen.

Related Stories

Results of a phase 3 trial published in The Lancet Oncology have confirmed that the drug abiraterone acetate (marketed as Zytiga) offers a significant survival benefit to patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer ...

Patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who have progressed after chemotherapy live significantly longer if treated with the drug abiraterone acetate compared to placebo, the results of a large Phase-III ...

The final survival analysis of an international study of a new drug for prostate cancer has found an even greater median survival benefit than previously reported, and has established a new class of treatment for men with ...

Stockholm, Sweden: Men with prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body and that is resistant to hormone therapy suffer less from fatigue if they are treated with a combination of abiraterone acetate and prednisone, ...

After five years of follow-up, a majority of asymptomatic, benign thyroid nodules exhibited no significant change in size, or actually decreased in size, and diagnoses of thyroid cancer were rare, according to a study in ...

Tumor recurrence following a period of remission is the main cause of death in cancer. The ability of cancer cells to remain dormant during and following therapy, only to be reactivated at a later time, frequently ...

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), long-known for its heart health benefits, has now been identified for its rapid destruction of cancer cells. While scientists have proven that the oleocanthal compound found ...

A magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) technique that monitors biochemical changes in tissue could improve the management of women at risk of breast cancer, according to a new study published online in the ...

Despite sharp increases in spending on cancer treatment, cancer mortality rates in the United States have decreased only modestly since 1970, Samir Soneji, PhD of Dartmouth's Norris Cotton Cancer Center and The Dartmouth ...

User comments

Please sign in to add a comment.
Registration is free, and takes less than a minute.
Read more

Click here to reset your password.
Sign in to get notified via email when new comments are made.